Strip metal rolling mill



P 1970 I L. J.MAIALE 3,530,701

STRIP METAL ROLLING MILL Filed May 9. 1968 INVENTOR United States Patent3,530,701 STRIP METAL ROLLING MILL Louis J. Maiale, 3831 West Point St.,Dearborn, Mich. 48204 Filed May 9, 1968, Ser. No. 727,884 Int. Cl. 1021b41/06 US. Cl. 72-229 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A strip rollingmill comprising two pair of work stock engaging rolls; a pair ofcounterpressure rolls disposed one adjacent each of the pairs of workstock engaging rolls; means supporting the rolls whereby the rotationalaxes thereof lie along a common plane; a center pressure roll disposedinterjacent the pairs of work stock engaging rolls, and means forsupporting the center pressure roll and for selectively urging the sametoward the common plane, whereby the center pressure roll is adapted toextert outwardly directed opposed forces against the pairs of work stockengaging rolls.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the rolling of strip or sheet metal,particularly ferrous metal, rolling operations are performed for thepurpose of imparting certain physical characteristics to the metal. Thisis usually referred to as temper rolling or sometimes as skin rolling.The object of such rolling operations is to pass the metal betweenrotatable work rolls which effect an elongating of the metal apredetermined amount and a reduction in thickness thereof, with suchworking of the metal developing certain desired characteristics in orderto adapt the metal for some predetermined purpose.

The amount of work which has to be done on the sheet metal variesconsiderably, depending upon the nature of the metal and the quality ofthe product to be produced. Most frequently, two and often three passesare required to achieve the desired characteristics in a metal. The mostcommon practice is to pass the material two or more times through asingle stand mill, the material being delivered to a takeup reel aftereach pass and thereafter being transferred to an unwinding station andrepassed through the same mill. Another common practice is to have twoor more stands of rolls arranged in succession so that a continuousstrip material may be progressively engaged in the several stands ofrolls in a single rolling operation, i.e., if three passes are required,the mill is provided with three stands of rolls arranged in succession.

In accordance with the present invention, strip metal rolling isaccomplished through the use of a single stand mill having multiple workrolls so arranged as to provide for a plurality of roll passes, oneadjacent the other, in multiple stand arrangement. If desired, stripwork stock may be fed in one direction through a first pair of workstock engaging rolls, and another strip of work stock may be fed orengaged between another pair of work stock engaging rolls, wherebyrolling operations on two strips of work stock may be accomplishedsimultaneously. Alternatively, a single strip work stock may be threadedthrough "ice the mill so as to pass between one pair of work stockengaging mills in one direction and thereafter the work stock may bereversed and passed between a second pair of Work engaging rolls inopposite direction.

As a result of the present invention, considerable time is saved overthe usual methods employing a single stand mill due to the fact that aplurality of roll passes may take place simultaneously, and the stripmaterial, in the latter described application, does not have to bepassed first through the mill and wound on a coil, then transferred tothe opposite side of the mill and thereafter repassed one or more timesthrough the mill. In this respect, the invention provides all of theadvantages of multiple stand mills; however, the rolling mill of thepresent invention requires no more floor space than the usual singlestand mill since only a single roll stand is necesseary. In addition tothe saving of floor space, the rolling mill of the present inventionwill be found to be considerably cheaper to construct and substantiallymore economical to operate than multiple stand mills. Not only does thepresent invention provide the advantages of both single stand andmultiple stand mills, but a further advantage over each of these typemills is found due to the fact that there is a certain amount of coldworking imparted to the work stock When a single strip of work stock isturned or reversed upon itself to travel in one direction between onepair of work stock engaging rolls and in the opposite direction when thework stock passes between another pair of work stock en gaging rolls.Still another feature of the present invention resides in the fact thatthe work stock takeup and supply means may be located on the same sideof the rolling mill, thereby providing for universality of application,particularly where space is at a premium.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to the metalrolling art and, more particularly, to a new and improved strip metalrolling mill.

It is accordingly a general object of the present invention to provide anew and improved strip rolling mill.

It is a more particular object of the present invention to provide a newand improved strip rolling mill which will be found to minimize spacerequirements and attendant work stock handling apparatus to the extreme.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved rolling mill of the above character which is extremelyeconomical to manufacture and operate.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to pro- .vide a newand improved strip rolling mill of the above character wherein the stripmetal engaging work stock rolls are arranged such that multiple rollingpasses may be achieved in a single stand arrangement.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved strip rolling mill of the above character wherein the workstock supply and takeup means may be located on the same side of therolling mill, whereby to provide for universality of application.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawing.

3 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The drawing illustrates an elevatedplan view of the strip metal rolling mill embodying a preferredconstruction of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawing, astrip metal rolling mill 10, in accordance with a preferred embodimentof the present invention, is shown as comprising an elongated supportstructure 12 which is adapted to Operatively support a plurality of workstock engaging rolls and pressure and counter pressure rolls forexerting predetermined force against the work stock engaging rolls, aswill hereinafter be described. In the preferred construction of thepresent invention, the support structure 12 is adapted to support theaforesaid rolls in a generally vertical orientation, with the rotationalaxes thereof being located along a common, vertically extending planeextending longitudinally of the structure 12. It will be noted, ofcourse, that the support structure 12, where certain operationalcircumstances warrant, may be generally vertically oriented, whereby theaforesaid rolls are oriented one above another with the rotational axesthereof substantially lying along a common plane which extendsperpendicular to the base or lower end of the support structure 12.

As illustrated, the rolling mill of the present invention comprises acentral pressure roll, generally designated 16, which is designed to bepower driven by any suitable means and rotated, for example, in acounterclockwise direction, as seen by the arrow associated therewith.Operatively associated with the central pressure roll 16 is a pair ofcounter pressure rolls 18 and 20 that are disposed in substantialalignment with the central pressure roll 16 at the opposite sidesthereof. The counter pressure rolls 18, 20 are designed to rotate in aclockwise direction, as shown by the respective arrows in the drawing,and thereby cooperate with the central pressure roll 16 in exerting coldworking forces against strip metal work stock being processed by therolling mill 10. Although the counter pressure rolls 18, 20 are shown asbeing of the same diameter, it will be noted that the size of said rollsmay be different in accordance with various applications.

The rolling mill 10 further comprises two pair of work stock engagingrolls 22, 24 and 26, 28, the former of which pair 22, 24, are disposedinterjacent the central pressure roll 16 and the counter pressure roll18, and the latter of which pair 26, 28 are disposed between the centralpressure roll 16 and the counter pressure roll 20. As illustrated in thedrawing, the rolls 22, 24 and 26, 28 are arranged in substantiallongitudinal alignment with the rolls 16, 18 and 20 and are adapted tobe rotatably supported by the structure 12 so as to be rotatable in thedirection of the respective arrows shown therewith. It will be notedthat the work stock engaging rolls of each of the pairs thereof are ofthe same diameter, but that the pair of rolls 22, 24 may be larger orsmaller in diameter than the pair of rolls 26, 28, depending upon thedegree of cold working to be imparted to the strip metal work stock andthe feed and takeup velocity of the work stock moving through therolling mill 10.

In accordance with the principles of the present invention, the workstock engaging rolls 22, 24 and 26, 28, as well as the counter pressurerolls 18 and 20 are rotatably supported by means of the supportstructure 12 at a position where the rotational axes thereof lie along acommon longitudinally extending, generally vertically disposed imaginaryplane, representatively designated herein by the numeral 29; however,the central pressure roll 16 is adapted to be rotatably supported by thesupport structure 12 at a position wherein the rotational axis thereofis located parallel to the plane 29, but spaced laterally therefrom adistance D. The central pressure roll 16 is adapted to be Operativelysupported on the support structure 12 by means of a suitable rollercarriage assembly 30, a fragmentary portion of which is illustrated inthe drawing.

The carriage assembly 30 is adapted to be selectively biased toward theimaginary plane 29 by any suitable power operated means as, for example,a pair of suitable hydraulically actuated piston and cylinder assemblies31 and 32 which, when actuated, will cause the carriage assembly 30 tobe biased toward the right in the drawing, thereby urging the centralpressure roll 16 between the work stock engaging rolls 24, 26. In apreferred construction of the present invention, the rolls 24, 26 arespaced apart a distance slightly smaller than the diameter of thecentral pressure roll 16, with the result that as the central pressureroll 16 is biased toward the right in the drawing by means of the pistonand cylinder assemblies 31, 32, the pressure roll 16 will exert opposedforces against the work stock engaging rolls 22, 24, thereby causing therolls 24, 26 to be biased longitudinally away from one another andtoward their respective associated work stock engaging rolls 22, 28.Thus, it will be seen that the single pressure roll 16 is adapted toproduce sufficient cold working forces against the rolls 24 and 26 suchthat each of the pairs of work stock engaging rolls 22, 24 and 26, 28may operate simultaneously to effect the cold working or rolling ofstrip metal work stock.

For certain types of installations, the counter pressure rolls 18 and 20may be mounted on the support structure 12 in a manner so as to beimmovable, although rotatable, relative to the plane 29; however, forvarious other types of installations, means may be provided on therolling mill 10 for biasing the counter pressure rolls 18 and/or 20longitudinally inwardly or outwardly, i.e., toward or away, from thecentral pressure roll 16, whereby to provide for wear takeup in theevent the various rolls become worn after extended use, or to enable therolling mill 10 to accommodate strip metal work stock of differentthicknesses. Such means for providing for selective adjustment of thecounter pressure rolls 18 and/or 20 may be of any suitable constructionwell known in the art, for example, a threaded or screw down typeadjustment means which is adapted to selectively bias the rolls 18and/or 20 longitudinally of the plane 29 upon threadable adjustment of asuitable threaded shaft 33 upon actuation of an associated drive meanssuch as an electric motor or the like shown at 34 in the drawing. Itwill be apparent, of course, that the provision of such adjustment meansis not necessary to the practice of the present invention in itsbroadest terms, and that the rolling mill of the present invention isnot intended to be limited to a specific construction embodying suchmeans.

In accordance with the present invention, the rolling mill 10 is adaptedto perform two cold rolling operations simultaneously since strip Workstock may be cold rolled between the work stock engaging rolls 22 and 24and also between the work stock engaging rolls 26 and 28. By virtue ofthe direction of rotation of the rolls 22, 24 and 26, 28, work stock isadapted to be fed in opposite directions through the rolling mill 10,i.e., work stock may be fed in the direction of the arrow 35 between therolls 22 and 24, and in the diection of the arrow 36 between rolls 26and 28. For certain installations, it may be desired to perform two coldrolling operations on the same strip work stock with the rolling mill10, in which case, the work stock may be fed into the mill 10 in thedirection of the arrow 35 and thereafter be reversed in direction andfed back through the mill 10 in the direction of the arrow 36. In thislatter type of installation, means for delivering the strip work stockto the mill 10 may be provided by a feeding station having a feed orsupply reel 37 which is rotatably mounted upon a suitable support shaftor the like 38. Similarly, a work stock receiving or takeup station maybe provided which includes a work stock takeup reel 39 rotatablysupported on a suitable shaft or the like 40. The feed and takeup reels37 and 39 may be of any usual or preferred construction,

and the feed reel 37 may, if desired, be provided with some type ofbraking means, as is the usual practice, in order to maintain tension onthe strip work stock as it is fed through the mill 10. Also, the takeupreel 39 may be power driven so as to maintain a predetermined tension onthe work stock as it is being processed by the mill 10. A particularfeature of the above type installation resides in the fact that the feedand takeup reels 37 and 39, respectively, are located on the same sideof the rolling mill 10, whereby to consideraby reduce the floor spaceconsumed thereby. It will be apparent, of course, that the rolling millof the present invention will work equally as elfective in rolling workstock when the same work stock is fed through the mill 10 in theopposite directions, as shown in the drawing, or when two dilferentstrips of work stock are fed in opposite directions between the rolls22, 24 and 26, 28.

In the event the rolling mill 10 is used to effect multiple rolling ofthe same strip of work stock in the manner illustrated in the drawing,the mill 10 may be provided with means for elfecting the reversedfeeding of the work stock through the mill 10 preparatory to the workstock being repassed therethrough. Such means may be provided by avariety of different arrangements as, for example, a looping roller,generally designated 41, which is rotatably mounted by means of asuitable support shaft 42 which is arranged parallel to the imaginaryplane 29. The roller 41 may be of various sizes, depending upon the typeof work stock, the relative sizes of the work stock engaging rolls 22,24 and 26, 28, and the relative vertical spacing therebetween. Also,means may be provided for exerting an outwardly directed force againstthe roller 41, whereby to effect tensioning of the work stock as it ispassed therearound. Such tensioning means may be in the form of aresilient spring force exerted against the rotational shaft 42 uponwhich the roller 41 is mounted, or alternatively, means in the form of afluid actuated piston and cylinder assembly or the like may be used toapply the outwardly directed force against the shaft 42 to effect thedesired work stock tensioning. The reverse feeding of the work stock mayalso be achieved, either in its entirety or in combination with theroller 41, by means of a generally arcuate shaped guide plate, afragmentary portion of which is illustrated in the drawing anddesignated by the numeral 43. It will be seen that when the work stockis initially fed through the rolls 22, 24, the end of the work stockwill engage the arcuate guide plate 43 and thereby be reversed indirection back toward the support structure 12 so that the end of thework stock may be fed through the rolls 26 and 28 and thereafter beproperly secured to the takeup reel 34.

In operation, the rolling mill 10 is adapted to have a supply of stripwork stock provided on the feed reel 37, with the end of the work stockbeing fed interjacent the work stock engaging rolls 22 and 24 andthereafter reversed and fed back through the rolls 26, 28 andoperatively engaged or secured to the takeup reel 39, as previouslymentioned. After the mill 10 has been thus threaded, the means 33, 34 isproperly adjusted in accordance with the type of work stock beingprocessed, and the piston and cylinder assemblies 31, 32 are energizedso that the central pressure roll 16 exerts a predetermined outwardlydirected compressive force against the pairs of work stock engagingrolls 22, 24 and 26, 28. Thereafter, the central pressure roll 16 isdrivingly actuated, and for certain applications, the counter pressurerolls 18, 20 may also be suitably driven. Upon actuation of one or moreof the pressure rolls 16, 18 or 20, the work stock, which isrepresentatively designated herein by the numeral 44, is unrolled fromthe reel 37 and moved in the direction of the arrow 35 in the drawing,whereby the work stock 44 will be cold worked some predetermined amountas it passes interjacent the work stock engaging rolls 22 and 24. Thework stock is then reversed in direction and passed interjacent thelower work stock engaging rolls 26, 28, as shown by the arrows 36, withthe result that the work stock is cold worked some additionalpredetermined amount and is thereafter rolled on the takeup reel 39. Byvirtue of the fact that the work stock will be elongated somepredetermined amount as it is cold Worked by the rolls 22 and 24, it isdesirable to apply some outwardly directed force to the looping roller41 so that the work stock is maintained under a state of tension or isretained taut as it is repassed between the rolls 26 and 28.

It will be apparent, of course, that the direction in which the workstock 44 travels back and forth through the mill 10 is not important andthat the feed and takeup reels 37 and 39 and looping roller 41 and/ orguide plate 43 may be disposed on the opposite sides of the supportstructure 12 from which they are shown in the drawing.

It will also be noted that the rolling mill 10 of the present inventionmay be provided with various numbers of pressure applying rolls ofdifferent sizes depending upon the desired feed and delivery velocity ofthe work stock and the desired applied pressure characteristics, withoutdeparting from the principles of the present invention.

As hereinabove indicated, the rolling mill 10 of the present inventionrequires no more floor space than a conventional single stand mill andis only slightly more complicated in construction and operation thansuch a single stand. At the same time, the mill 10 will provide forsubstantial time and cost saving and choice of surface finishes ascompared with multiple stand type rolling mills of the type heretoforeknown and used. Moreover, the rolling mill 10 of the present inventionmay be operated at tremendously lower costs and requires considerablyless floor space and attendant work stock handling equipment than suchmultiple stand mills.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiment illustratedherein is well calculated to fulfill the objects above stated, it willbe appreciated that the present invention is susceptible tomodification, variation and change without departing from the properscope or fair meaning of the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination in a strip metal rolling mill,

two pair of work stock engaging rolls,

a pair of counter pressure rolls disposed one adjacent each of saidpairs of rolls,

means supporting said rolls whereby the rotational axes thereof liealong a common plane,

a central pressure roll disposed interjacent said pairs of work stockengaging rolls, and

means for supporting said central pressure roll and for selectivelyurging the same toward said common plane, whereby said central pressureroll is adapted to exert outwardly directed opposed forces against saidpairs of work stock engaging rolls.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 which includes work stocksupply and takeup means disposed on the same side of said plane, wherebystrip work stock may be delivered from said supply means on one side ofsaid rolls and pass between one of said pairs of work stock engagingrolls to the opposite side of said plane, and thereafter be reversed andpassed between the other of said pair of work stock engaging rolls andbe received by said takeup means.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 2 wherein said work stocksupply and takeup means comprises supply and takeup stations spaced awayfrom said plane and on the same side thereof and including rotatablesupply and takeup reels.

4. The combination as set forth in claim 1 which includes pressureapplying means for exerting a compressive force against said rolls.

5. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for urgingsaid central pressure roll toward said pairs of work stock engagingrolls is power operated.

6. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said pairs of workstock engaging rolls are spaced apart from one another a distancesmaller than the diameter of said central pressure roll.

7. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said plane issubstantially vertically oriented.

8. The combination as set forth in claim 1 which in cludes tensioningmeans for exerting a tension force against the Work stock as it isreversed and repassed through the mill.

9. The combination as set forth in claim 1 which includes a guide plateand cooperable roller means for References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS4/1929 Mattei 72232 4/ 1941 Sendzimir 72230 X MILTON S. MEHR, PrimaryExaminer US. Cl. X.R. 72-23 0

